Sun Microsystems has unveiled a new tool that lets developers build an OpenSolaris storage server in 10 minutes, part of its three-year-old open source storage community effort. The vendor contends that open source technology provides cheaper, more cost-effective storage infrastructures, just as open source efforts in the past led to cheaper server environments.

TurboLinux says it has added online storage capabilities to its combination PMP (portable media player) and personal Linux boot device. The "Wizpy" device will soon gain support for network-based file storage, thanks to a deal with third-party storage service provider Omnidrive.

At it's most basic level, Wuala is an online storage service. Like other services it aims to allow you to access your files from anywhere, even if your home or office computer is turned off. You can store any file in your Wuala 'drive' and they can be any size (up to your storage limit, of course).

Turbolinux, one of the first-generation Linux vendors to enter the business arena, on Monday announced a new online storage service for its Wizpy device, which was first introduced in June. The Wizpy, which behaves as a Linux operating system as well as media player, now provides an online storage service from Omnidrive, the Palo Alto, Calif.-based storage services provider.

Powerfile, a Santa Clara, California based backup storage vendor, has released a Blu-ray based backup solution supporting up to 120Tb of storage accessible using CIFS (via Samba) or NFS. The new story at Linuxworld.com begins:

The mainline Linux kernel will gain new support this quarter for virtualized SANs (storage area networks). Emulex says its LightPulse virtual HBA driver gives each virtual machine (VM) on an enterprise storage server independent access to the SAN peripheral, through a shared HBA (host-bus adapter).

Users who purchase an Eee PC 900 with Linux...receive a laptop that boasts 20GB of flash memory-based storage space. Customers who opt for Windows XP, meanwhile, end up with a machine equipped with only 12GB of solid-state storage.

Combining 'Open Source' and 'storage' in the same sentence used to trigger a sardonic grin, but no longer. The availability of free and open software is as true today for storage as it is for operating systems and applications.

If you've been thinking of building yourself a dedicated storage server, this is a good time to do it...The ultimate in flexibility and reliability combines Linux software RAID (Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks) and LVM (Linux Volume Manager).